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Topic: items u wish u didn't buy (Read 6309 times)

You know what they say Dynasty, Ask several beekeepers a question and get several different answers.

So here goes:

I like my frame grip as it helps me to remove the very first frame without squashing bees. I like my frame holder as it beats placing the frames on the ground, which I did the first few years.I like my ventilated inner cover as since I started to use it, no more bearding in the summer and no more moisture in the hive in the winter.I like my veils and suits and leather gloves.

The only things I wish I did not purchase are:

An extractor, because I only do crush and strainA hot knife because I don't need it anymore since I don't use an extractorA queen excluderThese metal 9 frame spacersMann Lake top feeders, because I only do ziplock baggies now for feeding.

will lose all your friends because all you ever want to talk about is bugs, pollen, and nectar flowsspend all your money on obtaining more bugsyour yard will look more like a weed garden than a yard because you refuse to spray a broadleaf killer anymorewill crawl up trees, on top and under buildings to catch swarmsmove the wifes car out of the garage because you need the room for empty bug equipmentand get funny looks at the grocery store because youve cleaned out the shelf containing sugar

>So why is a queen excluder a waste. I thought it would keep the brood separate from the supers.

They are worth having one around. There are a few things I use them for, but keeping brood out of the supers is not one of the uses I have for it. It just keeps the bees from working the supers and restricts the queen and leads to swarming. But if you can't find a queen, and really need to, you can cut the area you have to look in half by putting an excluder in and come back in three days and look for eggs. She's in the half with eggs. You can repeat that and cut it in half again if you need to. You can also shake the bees through an excluder to find a hard to find queen if you are desperate.

>So far, that is my only mistake, and I have much left to buy.

I wouldn't call it a mistake. It will come in handy sometime or another to have one.

>I gather if you consider doing swarm or wall removal that you need a full suit over a jacket?

Either or will do. But a full suit like the Ultra Breeze or the Golden Bee Products is nice for a cutout as it's virtually sting proof, and anything else is not.